It's About "Tico" Time

North Americans (those we down here lovingly call "Gringos"....yea I know I am still a gringo too) are often aghast at the Tico cultural attitudes about punctuality. It is said in Costa Rica that if you arrive on time to a scheduled meeting you are early, if you arrive thirty minutes late you are on time and only if you arrive MORE than thirty minutes late are you really, well, late. Now there are some practical reasons for this, which are especially true in San Jose. For one thing the traffic in San Jose at times is absolutely atrocious. Now, you are probably thinking yes but you have to take all that into account and leave early enough so as to anticipate traffic related delays and still be punctual. Here is my advice so listen well. If you are going to come down here with that sort of thinking, just stay home!!! We don't think that far ahead down here. We would rather burn our brain cells on other more important matters. Just look at my friend Mack in the picture to the left (no that is not me....I am much younger and better looking than that dope!). Does he look like he is worried about making it on time to his next scheduled meeting?? Of course not!! He is engaged in much more worthy pursuits like kicking back with a cold Imperial. Pura Vida!

An area where "Tico Time" is most evident is the never ending wait for the bill (or cuenta) when you complete your meal at virtually any restaurant in the country. Now we (you see I said "we") gringos are used to receiving the bill (or having it shoved down our throats) even before we have tasted the last morsel. Not here. If you are waiting to receive the bill get ready to wait a long long time. Why is this? Well you see in Costa Rica it is considered rude and socially unacceptable to bring the bill before officially asked. In Costa Rica culture all social problems are resolved by talking it through for hours after finishing the meal. Therefore, if you want the bill you have to say, repeat after me, "la cuenta por favor." Or better yet, "regaleme la cuente por favor." And please always say please, because the culture here is very polite. Please and thank yous are always expected and appreciated.

Just another little cultural tidbit from your ""gringo" Costa Rica Expert.

Pura Vida Mae!

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Pescado Entero: And Other Costa Rican Delicacies

Being in the travel business I often get questions about Costa Rica food. What do people eat in Costa Rica? My standard answer is that in Costa Rica we have lots of food. One thing Costa Rica will likely never run short of is food. It is literally a place where if you spit a seed on the ground it will grow right there. It is a place where fences are made by simply planting sticks in the ground that then take root and make a solid immovable fence post. It is a place where every fruit imaginable grows. It is a place where there are thousands upon thousands of acres of pasture land with big fat healthy cattle grazing. It is a place with two oceans teaming with fish and other critters just waiting to be caught and eaten (sorry if that offends any PETA people who might read this). So what do Costa Ricans eat? Well the title of this Blog, Pescado Entero and other Costa Rican Delicacies provides a hint. Yes Costa Ricans love their fish. "Pescado Entero" is my personal favorite. It is a whole fried fish, head, tail and all. It is usually of the Corvina variety, which is a Sea Bass. It is usually served with "patacones", which are green plaintains that have been mashed and pan fried. You might also get a small salad. You can get pescado entero at most "sodas", which are small typical restaurants that you can find almost everywhere. Around the coastal towns, the pescado entero is of course the best. At these sodas the typical meal that a Costa Rican might order is called a "casado", which is the Spanish word for marriage. I am not sure why they call it a casado, but I guess it is a marriage of food or something like that. Anyway, a casado will always feature a meat of either "pollo" (chicken), "chuleta" (pork chop), "carne" or "bistek" (red meat), or "pescado" (fish). It will also have a small salad, rice and black beans and usually some sort of casserole (generally made of potatoes or yuca). My favorite Costa Rican meal, however, is breakfast. One of the most authentic Costa Rican dishes is "gallo pinto." This is a rice and beans dish, flavored with all sorts of spices and it is delicious. You can get it a little different depending on what part of the country your in. For instance in most parts it is fried in vegetable oil, but in the province of Limon, generally it is cooked in coconut oil. The typical Costa Rica breakfast will always feature gallo pinto and will offer your choice of "juevos" (eggs) either "fritos" (fried) or "revueltos" (scrambled) and "salchicha" or "chorizo" (different types of sausage) or tocineta (bacon). It will usually also feature "platanos maduros", which is a plaintain that is fried in oil and made sweet with something like brown sugar. The breakfasts in Costa Rica are simply delicious. Well this gives you an idea of what we eat down here. Always fruits are fantastic. Natural fruit juices ("jugos naturales") are to die for. One of my favorites is "guanabana." Costa Rica may not be known for its food like some other destinations (Mexico and Italy for example), but I have not received too many complaints about food here. Oh and the water is completely safe to drink anywhere in the country. So come on down and enjoy some great Costa Rican food.

Pura Vida!